


When the Mask Comes Off

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: (We Loved 'Till the End) Cap_Ironman Bingo 2016  (2) [8]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Cap_Ironman Bingo, Identity Reveal, M/M, Oblivious Tony, Poor Tony, Secret Identity, Stony Bingo, Team as Family, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:17:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9297797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: He hadn't meant to say it, not really. He really had wanted to give the man a chance to be able to come to him and talk about it first, when he felt comfortable enough to. But that didn't stop Steve's panic-induced mind from trying to tear the suit open."Tony, are you okay?!" Steve gasped, trying to find the release latch on the helmet or the chest plate. Before he was able to get the armor off, one metal hand met him, gripping his wrist tightly.Steve's eyes snapped up to the faceplate. "Iron Man, please, what happened? Are you hurt?"The voice was still distorted, hard to hear, but being a super-soldier did have its advantages. "Y-you know?"





	

**Author's Note:**

> Follow-up of previous. S4, Image: Crash Landing

 

            The giant hole in the side of the plane took Steve right back to the moment when he was on the train, reaching for Bucky, trying to save his friend and ultimately being unable to do so. It sent him into a panic, making sure that he put himself between Bucky and that gaping hole in the metal. The air pressure was already nearly enough to send them out, but Steve was prepared for that.

            He managed to get Bucky as far from danger as he could before throwing the shield over to him, knowing that Bucky would be able to catch it. His teammate was used to handling the shield, though it wasn't until he threw it when he realized that he might actually _need_ it.

            But then one of the Hydra agents shot at him.

            The blast hit Steve square in the chest and sent him flying backward, off-balanced enough for him to get sent right out of the plane.

            Wind rushed by him as he spun in circles down towards the ground. Everything was a blur of blue, green, blue, green as the sky and the land created a whirlwind of colors around him.

            In that moment, Steve really thought that he was going to die.

 

            The battle had been going _so well_ before. Clint and Natasha had taken back control of the plane and were heading towards the closest S.H.I.E.L.D. base to put the plane down and arrest the Hydra agents. He was trying to take down the Hydra agents and keep them away from the S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons that they'd been trying to steal, but apparently they'd already taken a few weapons.

            Iron Man's suit had been damaged while he was trying to keep Steve and Bucky safe—the S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons were far more dangerous than they'd been expecting, and if they'd been hit, there was no doubt that they'd have been seriously if not critically injured.

            Because of this, that kept the three superheroes confined to just being in the plane, seeing as Iron Man's flight was nearly completely knocked out. When the hole had been blasted in the side of the plane, that's when Steve knew they'd lost control of the situation.

            He'd barely gotten a chance to see Natasha running back over into the room, leaving Clint to fly the plane solo, before he'd been blasted out of the plane.

 

            It wasn't that he was giving up. No, there was still a chance that he could survive this. He'd jumped out of planes before, but he'd always been prepared. He'd never been blasted in the chest first, and _God_ did that hurt. Squeezing his eyes closed, Steve waited for the inevitable impact that came with crashing into the ground. By now Steve was barely able to breathe, chest aching too much, when something solid crashed into him.

            Wait, that wasn't the ground.

            Steve's eyes flashed open, surprised to see the red and gold mask of Iron Man just inches from his own face.

            He wanted to yell at his boyfriend—Tony had jumped out of a plane after him while he suit could _barely fly_. He'd never forgive himself if Tony didn't make it.

            "Brace for impact, Cap," Iron Man commanded, though his voice-changer sounded damaged, since his words came out strange, robotic, with a bit of static.

            Barely managing to listen to Iron Man's words, the two crashed down against the cold, unforgiving dirt, effectively knocking Steve out for several seconds.

            When he came to, gasping for breath, Steve rolled over. Panic ran cold through his veins when he realized that Iron Man had turned them so that Steve would be spared from the worst of the impact. Scrambling off of the suit, he started to freak out a little.

            "Iron Man?" Steve asked, trying to get the other man to wake up. There was no way that he could be dead... No way. "Iron Man, can you hear me? Are you okay?"

            There was a slight static-y hissing noise that came from the suit, but with the lack of movement, he couldn't even be sure of the man was alive.

            He hadn't meant to say it, not really. He really had wanted to give the man a chance to be able to come to him and talk about it first, when he felt comfortable enough to. But that didn't stop Steve's panic-induced mind from trying to tear the suit open.

            "Tony, are you okay?!" Steve gasped, trying to find the release latch on the helmet or the chest plate. Before he was able to get the armor off, one metal hand met him, gripping his wrist tightly.

            Steve's eyes snapped up to the faceplate. "Iron Man, please, what happened? Are you hurt?"

            The voice was still distorted, hard to hear, but being a super-soldier did have its advantages. "Y-you know?"

            Running back through what he'd said, Steve's eyes widened a little. Shit, he hadn't meant to say that—he hoped that the team couldn't hear them at the moment. Checking to see if he had his earpiece—he didn't, it fell out on the fall—he murmured, "Yeah... I've known now for a while."

            The faceplate hissed as the latch came undone, moving up to reveal the terrified face of his lovely boyfriend. He looked pale, far paler than he should've looked. Was he bleeding out? How could he have missed that? "How did you know?"

            "Are you hurt?" Steve demanded, trying to figure out how to get the suit open. "Tony, where are you hurt? You're pale—I need to get you somewhere fast—"

            "I'm not hurt," Tony insisted, still staring at him with wide eyes and a pale face that made Steve think differently. " _How did you know_ , Steve?!"

            "How did I... know that you're Iron Man?" Steve asked, tilting his head to the side. Why were they wasting time if Tony was injured? Unless he wasn't injured. Checking again, Steve realized that Tony was just really _scared_. Why? There was no way that Tony was scared... of _him_ , right? Could it have been the fall? "A while ago, when you and Clint made that multi-dimensional portal—"

            "He told you... the alternate version of me _told_ you? Why did he...?" Tony whispered, and Steve could tell by his breathing alone that the man was full-on panicking.

            "Tony, calm down," he said, instantly regretting his choice of words as the genius glared at him, still panicking. He hugged his boyfriend close, wishing that he could rub his back. The suit was getting in the way at the moment, and he had no way of opening it. "Come on, breathe. What's the problem?"

            "The problem? You're really asking what the problem is? You've known my secret identity for what, _months_ now, and you haven't said a thing about it to me?" Tony snapped, though he still didn't look angry, only scared.

            "I was waiting for you to tell me... There must've been some sort of reason as to why you didn't want to tell anyone," Steve said, shrugging. When the Iron Man suit opened, he offered the man a hand to pull him out. "I wasn't sure if you were just worried... that we wouldn't want you on the team, or what, but I know that _I'm_ glad you're an Avenger, I'm glad you're by my side, and I _know_ that the team feels the same."

            "Tony Stark... isn't the man people think of when they think of Iron Man," Tony said slowly, still looking cautious. He looked like he wanted to run off, so that he wouldn't have to face Steve. "The team... they wouldn't want me—"

            "They love you," Steve argued, crossing his arms. "There's no way that you can possibly say that they don't, because you know that's bullshit. The team loves you, nearly as much as I do."

            Tony didn't fight him when Steve pulled the shorter man into a hug, rubbing his back. He didn't flinch away, he didn't try to leave, and for that, Steve was thankful. He needed Tony to understand that not only was he a valuable member of the team, he was also a good person, and was well-loved by everyone who actually know him.

            "I'm never going to think any less of you for being Iron Man, or for not wanting to tell anyone about it," Steve whispered, kissing Tony's cheek. "I know that it must've been hard, keeping that secret for so long, and... I really did mean to let you come to me, first, but you weren't moving, and I started panicking... I hope you realize how much I do love you, Tony, and respect you... I hope you realize that it'll be okay to tell the rest of the team, too."

            "I don't want them to hate me... for lying for so long," Tony whispered, pressing his face against Steve's shoulder. He was glad that the genius wasn't mad for not saying something sooner, or for bringing it up in the first place. The super-soldier winced a little as he held Tony tighter, realizing that he was pressing his boyfriend against his wound, hissing in pain.

            "Ah, Steve, you're still hurt," Tony gasped, pulling away from him, eyeing the wound. "They hit you hard. You need medical attention."

            Steve just chuckled. "It's already healing. It would've been a lot worse if you hadn't caught me when you did—it wouldn't have been a very pretty landing, I can tell you that."

            They stood in silence for a while before Tony glanced down at the suit. "I should check if the team's still okay—I've got some backup comms. in the suit." Opening a hidden section, Tony handed Steve an earpiece, which he promptly turned on. Tony got himself back into the suit. "Everyone okay?"

            "Iron Man!" Bucky shouted, and Steve winced a little. "What happened? Where's Steve?"

            "Still in one piece," Steve groaned, rubbing his head. He was still alive, but that didn't mean that he wasn't in pain.

            "Steve... you _idiot_ ," Bucky muttered, breathing a sigh of relief. "Next time you jump off a plane, you better take a parachute."

            "We've got the plane secured," Natasha informed. "Iron Man, can you take Cap back to the tower? We'll stop by S.H.I.E.L.D., get their plane back to them, then get a ride back. Unless you're more injured than you sound."

            "I'm fine," Steve assured her.

            "I wasn't talking about you," Natasha replied.

            "He's not fine, actually, but I can get him back to the tower," Tony assured the team. "And if you were implying I'm hurt, I'll have you know I'm not. The suit's pretty good at protecting me from injuries." Tony reached over and gripped one of Steve's hands. "Actually, there's something that I want to talk with you all about, once you get back."

            "You'll still be there? Great," Clint said. Steve could practically hear his grin. He'd been trying to get Iron Man to stay around the team more often, and Steve wondered if Clint knew Tony was Iron Man.

            "See you soon," Steve murmured, stepping close to Tony. The genius had installed a bit on the boots of his suit for when they did their hug-and-fly routine. It was such an easy way to be able to fly, freeing up Tony's hands while Steve held tightly to the suit, giving him a good footing so that he didn't slip. He shut off his earpiece, hoping that Tony would do the same so they could talk.

            Thankfully, the suit wasn’t damaged enough that they couldn’t fly back over to the tower—plus Tony had been working on a rebuilding system that Jarvis controlled, so that was nice. It was based entirely off the super-soldier serum and Steve’s healing capabilities.

            "I'm going to tell them," Tony said, faceplate flipping open as he started off for the tower.

            "Good," Steve murmured, leaning forward to kiss his boyfriend for a moment. "Because I'm really glad that you're Iron Man, and the team has become like a little family. I don't think they'd be mad in the slightest. They've never treated you like you were less, when you claimed Iron Man was your bodyguard."

            "They didn't," Tony agreed. "I think Natasha already knows."

            "And she hasn't treated you differently," Steve pointed out.

            "She's offered to train me more... I thought it had been because you'd been offering to train me, so..." Tony mumbled. He still looked a bit panicked, but that look of terror that he'd had before was gone. "You think this is a good idea?"

            "I think this is a _great_ idea," Steve said. He'd always loved flying around with Iron Man before he knew about his secret identity. He'd always kept it as professional as possible. Now, though, he could really enjoy being able to hold tightly to his boyfriend as they flew through the sky. It was wonderful.

            "Does _anyone_ know?" Steve asked, helping the shorter man get the armor off of him. "I mean... other than me, now."

            "I wanted to tell people... I really did," Tony said, carefully stepping out of the suit. "But... I couldn't. A-are you sure you're not mad?"

            "Mad? Why would I be mad?" Steve asked, keeping a gentle arm around Tony's waist. "I told you, Tony, I'm never going to think less of you for hiding your identity, or for being Iron Man. I've known that you were a good person long before I knew you were Iron Man."

            His boyfriend didn't look convinced. In fact, Tony just looked like he was going to be sick. Steve wrapped him up in his arm, holding him close.

            "I don't know how many times it's going to take me saying I love you for you to realize that it's true," Steve whispered, pressing kisses to Tony's head. Thankfully, his wound had been healing up a lot during the flight back, and hadn't ever really been _bleeding_ , so Tony didn't pull away from him when he kept the brunet snuggled against his chest. "But I'm going to keep saying it, because it's the truth, and one day I _know_ that you're going to believe it."

            "I've been worried that one day you'd break up with me because it was really Iron Man that you liked," Tony mumbled, then laughed a little to himself.

            Steve just rolled his eyes fondly. "I should've been able to tell that you were Iron Man earlier, but I didn't even look hard enough because I was too in love with you. I'm pretty sure there have been many times when I've asked Iron Man about his boss, and about whether or not he seemed happy with dates, and whether or not he seemed interested in me—"

            "That's when I really wanted to tell you... on that first date, I almost told you... then in the helicarrier... I know I should've mentioned it earlier. But I _didn't_ ," Tony sighed, relaxing in his arms when the super-soldier started rubbing his back. "I... I _couldn't_..."

            "We're going to have to talk about that," Steve whispered, stealing another kiss from Tony. "But first... do you want the suit back on before the team gets here?"

            "Yeah," Tony murmured, though he didn't try to pull away from Steve. It felt so right, being able to hold the other man in his arms. They'd been dating for a while now, and now, with no huge secrets between one another, it felt like they really were _together_ now. Steve had fallen completely head over heels for Tony ever since he'd met him—he hadn't been sure _what_ to think, but Tony was just _such a great man_ from the beginning that it was impossible not to fall in love with him.

            No matter what Tony tried saying, Steve had been able to see through that mask from day one. Whatever the public seemed to think, Steve knew that they were wrong—they didn't know Tony the way that he did, the way that the team did. That's why the team loved Tony as much as they did—because they didn't listen to what the media said, they just got to know Tony and made their own conclusions.

            "The rest of the Avengers will be arriving in three minutes, and I have informed Dr. Banner that you have returned. He will be here in thirty seconds," Jarvis warned. "I figured that you two could... use a moment."

            "Thanks J," Tony said, grinning as he carefully pulled himself out of Steve's arms. The super-soldier grabbed his helmet, waiting until Tony got back into the suit before he handed it to him. The issue was, Tony didn't manage to get the helmet back on before Bruce came running into the room.

            "I've been getting everything ready in the medical wing in case anyone needs help, and yet you guys don't even tell me when you get back to the tower," Bruce said, dropping the huge first-aid kit onto the couch.

            Steve glanced back and forth between Tony and Bruce. His boyfriend was staring at the doctor, eyes wide and scared, while Bruce opened the first aid kit.

            "Steve, I was warned that you were hit pretty badly, and I'm very disappointed that you didn't come straight to me," Bruce said, frowning at him before he turned his attention to Tony. "Are you hurt? And no lies, because I know that you keep a first-aid kit in the lab, but you're horrible at treating your wounds so I'm not giving you the chance this time." He then glanced between the two. "You're finally ready to tell us?"

            "How did—when did—I never even... How did you _know?_ " Tony gasped. Steve could see that his hands were shaking, and there was no doubt Bruce noticed that too. He hated seeing that panicked look on Tony's face—he should _know_ that his team cares about him!

            "Tony, the Hulk and I aren't separate beings... He's known from the first time I met you as Iron Man," Bruce said calmly, offering a friendly smile. "I just figured that you didn't want anyone to know, so I didn't say anything... I'm glad you're ready to tell everyone." Bruce raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong? You look sick."

            "How many people knew about this before I told them?" Tony asked. "Steve learned about it when I accidently sent him to another dimension, _you've_ known about it from day one, Natasha keeps offering to train with me—I think _she_ knows too... Am I _that_ bad at keeping secrets?"

            "I mean.... it was impossible to hide it from me, and you didn't mean to send Steve to another universe, Clint and Natasha are spies so I wouldn't be surprised if they figured it out... And to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if Bucky knew, too," Bruce said, shrugging. "It's not that you're bad at keeping secrets—the media never figured it out, and you've been Iron Man for a _long_ time now."

            Tony, still looking shocked, raised his hands and put the helmet back on his head. Only a couple moments later, the rest of the team wandered out of the elevator. Bruce glanced over at them for a moment before dragging Steve over to the couch.

            "Sit," he commanded, and Steve knew not to argue. He let the doctor start cleaning off the blast wound as the rest of the team filed over, crashing down onto the couches and chairs.

            "You got the plane back?" Steve asked.

            Natasha nodded. "Somehow, a lot of the weapons were broken," she said innocently, like she didn't manipulate any of it. Steve knew that she was unsure about what S.H.I.E.L.D. was using the weapons for, and he wasn't surprised as she dropped a couple of them onto the table. "So Iron Man, you wanted to say something?"

            Steve knew that Tony hated having all of the attention in the room on him when it wasn't a happy, easy conversation.

            "I... Yes, there's something that I need to tell you guys," Tony said, standing up a little straighter. He always seemed to do that when he was bracing himself for rejection. "I've kept my identity from you all for a long time... and I think I should probably tell you the truth."

            He took a deep breath, reaching up to take his helmet off. He paused for a second, taking another deep breath. Steve glanced around, noticing the easygoing smile on Clint's face and the calm look on Natasha's face.

            When Tony removed his helmet, he kept his eyes squeezed shut for a few moments, probably waiting for some kind of reaction. When he didn't get one, he opened his eyes and looked around at the team.

            "I was hoping that you were going to eventually tell us," Clint said. Steve began to wonder when everyone else was noticing and why _he_ hadn't noticed... All of the signs were there, yet... he missed it all. How did he miss it all?

            " _What?_ " Tony gasped, dropping the helmet. "Okay, did literally _everyone_ know already? Was I really just fooling myself into thinking that I had a secret identity? How long have you known?"

            "I had my suspicions since the beginning... so I got to know you better, and I realized that there was no way that you _weren't_ Iron Man," Clint said, shrugging. "Match that up with the way that Iron Man always left early, and despite being your bodyguard I've never actually seen him around you, and... yeah." A wide grin spread across his face. "I figured it out pretty quickly."

            "I've known since before the Avengers," Natasha said. "I've known you for a long time now, Tony. That wasn't going to get past me. I'm surprised it took Steve so long, with all of the time he spends with you. If anyone would've noticed earlier—"

            "I didn't even consider the possibility... I thought you were safe, here, and I wouldn't be worrying about you on the battlefield... but I _am_ glad that you're by my side," Steve said, gripping Tony's hand. The genius smiled at him.

            "I thought it was pretty obvious," Bucky commented, and Steve glared at him when he noticed the smug look he had. "I mean, you take a lot of pride in that suit. I didn't think you'd let anyone else fly it. And I thought everyone knew... until no one said anything about it, and when I asked about Iron Man..." He shrugged. "Guess you guys _did_ know, you were just waiting for Tony to mention it. Speaking of which, why _haven't_ you?"

            Tony looked away. "If you knew about my public image... if you knew what I'd done before the Avengers..."

            "Tony, I was a _Hydra assassin_. You guys still let me be an Avenger," he pointed out. Steve really liked how good of friends Tony and Bucky had become. At first, he'd been a little worried, but the two had gotten close pretty fast. So when Bucky had such a serious look on his face, he knew that it would be impossible for Tony to ignore.

            "Clint and I were both assassins who worked for a secret government agency," Natasha added. "Bruce turns into the Hulk. Steve is the only goody-two-shoes on the team, and you're _dating_ him. While you may think that you have a bad reputation, you're wrong. You're a billionaire who funds a superhero team, funds college projects, donates to charity, works on creating renewable energy and oh, guess what, he's also Iron Man. That isn't a bad reputation."

            "She's right, you know," Steve pointed out, leaning over to kiss Tony. When he was in his suit, he was actually just a tad bit _taller_ , and that was kind of odd. "Natasha's always right. You're too hard on yourself."

            Tony rolled his eyes, but Steve could see the tears in his eyes.

            "Okay, out of the suit," Bruce said, crossing his arms. "I'm able to properly drag you off to medical now if I need to."

            "Now I understand why you would always check up on me so much..." Tony mumbled, grinning as the suit opened. "And here I thought it was just because I was being reckless in the lab so often."

            "Well, there's that too," Bruce said, tugging Tony closer to hug him. "Never think you're not good enough for this team, Tony, because we'd be nothing without you."

            Group hugs weren't exactly things that happened in the Avengers very often, but everyone seemed to realize that Tony needed some comfort at the moment, so they all wandered over and kept him from leaving by enveloping him in their arms. No matter what Tony may have thought before, he would definitely realize now just how much the team did care for him, and just how important he was to them.

            "I'm not sure I'm ready to tell the public," Tony whispered, and Steve leaned forward to kiss him.

            "You don't have to until you're ready," Steve murmured. "They might find out, though, now that you're not going to be hiding it from us anymore."

            "I don't want to have to hide from you guys anymore," Tony said, leaning against Steve while the rest of the team backed off a little. Steve kept himself curled around the shorter man, knowing that it made him feel safer by the slight hum he gave before he pressed himself closer to Steve. "I thought... I thought you'd see the Tony Stark that the rest of the world sees, and you wouldn't want me on the team because I wasn't good enough..."

            "Tony, you're one of the kindest, most compassionate men that I've ever met. You've given us all a home—before you, none of us had much of anything. But you gave us a home, let us become a _family_ , you're been keeping us all safe by upgrading our armor and weapons... You've been better to us than I'd ever expected, the first time I was told that you were offering us a place to stay. You've been nothing but kind, and one day the rest of the world will see that... if you _let_ them, Tony. You hide that side of you so well from the media, and I've never really understood why," Steve said, hugging his boyfriend closer. "But you _need_ to understand that the team will always be here for you—we'll always be at your side, defending you against anything that you need us to, because we're your family."

            "Always," Clint said, and by that point in time Tony was practically _glowing_ he looked so happy. They were tears of joy that were running down his face, Steve knew so as he gently brushed them away and kissed the top of Tony's head.

            "So, now that you're ready to share the fact that you're Iron Man," Bucky said, smirking, "I can bug you into letting me help you out with those suits. I'd love to see how they run."

            "Maybe sometime," Tony said, rolling his eyes.

            "We should go out to dinner tonight," Steve suggested, looking around. "We haven't got out for a team dinner in a long time."

            "That sounds great," Tony said, standing up on his tippy-toes so that he could steal a kiss from Steve. The super-soldier got a glimpse of his eyes for a moment, watching the way that they sparkled with a joy that he hadn't seen before. His lover had finally been able to open up completely to the team, knowing that he was accepted and loved and he just looked so _happy_.

            But even behind that happiness, Steve knew that this wasn't the end of Tony's insecurities, and he did intend to find out the real reasons to why Tony didn't want to share being Iron Man. There was something more, something that he didn't want to tell everyone, but maybe... maybe he'd be willing to give Steve a chance with that knowledge.

            Smiling to himself, Steve knew that he wouldn't get a chance to ask for a while. He wanted to see Tony as happy as possible for as long as possible before he had to bring up something dark in Tony's past that caused him to feel like he wasn't worth anything, that he wasn't worth being a hero.


End file.
